Educator Resources

Students gain a "real world" extension to their classroom education, and at the same time, build a connection to their community. Whether your students are looking for a one-time community service opportunity, or if you want to develop a long-term service-learning project with your students, SOLVE is here to support your efforts.

SOLVE educational materials help students:

• Assess their community, in order to address real community needs
• Connect service to school-based academic learning
• Reflect purposefully on the connection between the service activity, their academic goals, and their own lives
• Celebrate and recognize the contributions of all participants
• Evaluate their accomplishments and the processes they followed
• SOLVE educational materials are designed for use by teachers and students in Oregon; all of the following SOLVE programs and curricula are designed to promote service-learning. All education materials are aligned with
• Oregon Department of Education standards and benchmarks across content areas.

Community Service

SOLVE also offers students a number of opportunities to join a variety of cleanup, enhancement, and restoration efforts around Oregon. Students and their families are invited to join the following pre-scheduled, one-day cleanup and enhancement community service opportunities that SOLVE sponsors throughout Oregon.

• SOLVE Spring Beach Cleanup(late March) Volunteers help clean the entire coast of trash and marine debris.
• SOLVE IT (April 11-22, throughout Oregon) Statewide Earth Day event involving volunteers in litter cleanup, invasive plant removal, native planting, and restoration site maintenance and monitoring.
• Beach & Riverside Cleanup(late September, throughout Oregon) Statewide event focusing on the removal of litter and invasives from Oregon's waterways. Events may include litter cleanup, invasive plant removal, native planting, and restoration site maintenance and monitoring.
• Team Up for Watershed Health (Fall, Winter, early Spring, Portland Metropolitan area) restores urban and suburban streams.

K-16 Education: Project Planning and Support

Our K-16 educational programs and curricula are designed to place students in charge, as they involve them in service-learning. Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Students gain a "real world" extension to their classroom education, and at the same time, build a connection to their community.

R Oregon (K-6)

SOLVE offers R Oregon, a step by step program guide that helps students in elementary grades plan and complete a service-learning project. R Oregon is aligned with Oregon's Career-Related Learning standards; a matrix showing this alignment is included in the planning guide.

R Oregon helps students to "Read" their community and plan how they can help improve it; "Research" their service project and connect it to what they are learning in the classroom; "Reflect" on what they are learning about themselves and about working with others during the project; "Recognize" their success and thank everyone who helped; and "Report" on their accomplishments.

Contact SOLVE to order your free copy of the R Oregon Planning Guide.

Make It Right (6-12)

Students at these grade levels are invited to initiate, design, and implement projects in their school or surrounding community that will:

• Clean or enhance their environment
• Respond to community problems
• Involve others - students and adults - in order to make a difference!

The Make It Right Planning Guide is a comprehensive service-learning tool and reference manual, filled with step-by-step worksheets, tips and sample materials to help students organize the project. Students also learn how to:

• Identify community needs
• Set goals
• Recruit volunteers
• Plan a media campaign and write a news release
• Develop a project budget, and seek funding
• Reflection and evaluation tools are included, as well as a matrix demonstrating the program's alignment with the Oregon's learning standards and benchmarks - all of the essential service-learning components.

Extended Application or Senior Project (11-12)

SOLVE is ready to work with Oregon high school students as they prepare an Extended Application, or a Senior Project. Interested students are invited to contact SOLVE early in the school year, to discuss school and SOLVE project requirements.

SOLVE provides:

• Permission to access a metro-area SOLVE-managed restoration or enhancement site
• A handbook (Make It Right) outlining suggested project organization, including all necessary forms and waivers
• Small grant reimbursement assistance, as appropriate
• All tools (as available – or suggestions as to where to locate tools), disposal material (litter bags), gloves, hazmat containers, safety vests
• Ongoing technical advice for project design and implementation

The student will be expected to demonstrate in advance:

• A detailed, written plan of the proposed project, identifying:
• The written community need being met
• How the project will benefit the community
• How the project meets the student’s academic goals
• Specific anticipated outcomes – e.g., plant 50 trees, clear 25 cu.yds. of invasives, design a restoration plan for a designated area, etc.
• For students under 18 years of age: the name of an adult mentor/advisor/teacher or counselor working with the student
• In addition: the student will present, to SOLVE, all school-required forms that SOLVE will need to complete, to certify successful completion of the senior project

During the project phase the student will commit to:

• Recruit a minimum of 10-15 other students or community volunteers to help with the project
• Advertise the project at the school (poster, flyer, etc.)
• Collect all necessary signed waivers from property owners and volunteers
• Pick up all tools and related necessary project materials and deliver them to the project site
• Meet all timelines as established by SOLVE
• Follow SOLVE guidelines for the work being done

After the project the student will complete:

• Specific project goals, as outlined in the written plan (see #5 above)
• Make It Right Accomplishment Report
• Reimbursement request with receipts (if a grant was given)
• A written or structured oral reflection, describing the connections between the project, the community, the academic goals, and the student
• Other specified outcome(s), as agreed upon in advance between the student and SOLVE
• Return of all tools and other borrowed project materials to SOLVE

Contact: Quintin Bauer, Education Program Coordinator, quintin@solv.org

K-16 Education: Curriculum, Tools, and Training

R Oregon (Elementary Grades)This step by step planning guide that helps elementary students plan and complete a service-learning project. Click here to view more information about R Oregon.

Make It Right (Middle and High School) This step by step project planning guide helps middle and high school students plan and complete a service-learning project. Click here to view more information about Make It Right.

Youth Leadership for Community Action Sponsored by The Ford Family Foundation, SOLVE's Youth Leadership for Community Action guide helps to build community in rural Oregon through service-learning projects. This youth leadership guide is designed to help students envision, organize, and implement successful community projects in partnership with community members. Students are taught and then utilize various leadership skills throughout the experience, promoting youth stewardship, civic engagement, and community awareness. This guide is specifically designed to meet the new Oregon high school graduation requirements. Students must demonstrate competency in the Career-Related Learning Standards and must successfully complete an extended application. For more information please contact Quintin Bauer.

Training

SOLVE has been acknowledged and recognized nationally for its leadership as a community partner in service-learning. Our service-learning training is endorsed and recommended by the Oregon Department of Education to introduce and support schools across the state in the strategy.

SOLVE provides training for teachers, addressing:

• What is service-learning?
• How can I connect a service project to my curriculum?
• How can service-learning help my students meet Oregon’s new High School graduation requirements?
• How do I find community partners and members to help, and how to I build the partnerships?
• How can service-learning help my students become leaders?

For students, addressing:

• How can I plan and implement a successful project in my community?
• How can SOLVE help me do my Senior Project or Extended Application?
• How can SOLVE help me improve my leadership skills?

For community partners/members, addressing:

• How can students help meet the service needs of my organization or agency?
• How can I connect with schools?
• What do I need to know in order to be a good service-learning partner?